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Lynn Johnston
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The Lives Behind the Lines : 20 Years of For Better or For Worse Hardcover – October 1, 1999

by Lynn Johnston (Author)
4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 26 ratings
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This is a trip down memory lane, looking back over some of the Patterson family's most memorable moments. Creator Lynn Johnston's commentary adds a behind-the-scenes element, as she describes some of her thoughts about the strip over the years.

Author's web site: http://fbofw.com/
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  1. Part of series
    For Better or For Worse
  2. Print length
    224 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    Andrews McMeel Publishing
  5. Publication date
    October 1, 1999
  6. Dimensions
    9 x 1 x 11.25 inches
  7. ISBN-10
    0740702092
  8. ISBN-13
    978-0740702099
  9. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

 Lynn Johnston was born in Collingwood, Ontario, and grew up in British Columbia. Today, she lives in Corbeil, Ontario. Johnston is the first woman to receive a Reuben Award for Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year from the National Cartoonists Society in 1986. She has also received the Order of Canada and claims a star on Canada's Walk of Fame.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Andrews McMeel Publishing (October 1, 1999)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 224 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0740702092
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0740702099
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 9 x 1 x 11.25 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 26 ratings

About the author

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Lynn Johnston

Lynn Johnston

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Lynn Johnston lives in Corbeil, Ontario, Canada. She was the first woman to win the National Cartoonists Society's Reuben Award for Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year in 1985. In the summer of 2008, she was inducted into the "Giants of the North," the Canadian Cartoonists Hall of Fame.

www.fborfw.com

Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
4.7 out of 5
26 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Eilonwyofllyr
5.0 out of 5 stars Lynn's BEST of the FBOFW ANNIVERSARY books.
Reviewed in the United States on August 28, 2005
Verified Purchase
This book is a MUST for any diehard fan. It contains in its pages details and answers to questions that have always wandered in your mind as your read her strip each day. (Why does Candace have such issues? How are Phil and Georgia doing? Why happened to Annie and Ellie's friendship?) How does Lynn do it? Well, in this book she uses narrative and art to flesh out details that just won't fit into 5 panels Mon-Sat strip. With this book, it's like you just bought a house next to the Pattersons and Ellie has invited you over for a coffee and a good gossip to fill you in on the goings on in the neighborhood.

Enjoy!
One person found this helpful
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Paula Berman
5.0 out of 5 stars Much more than the usual comic collection
Reviewed in the United States on July 12, 2000
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A funny thing happens to regular readers of For Better or For Worse...they start to care about the characters. There have been storylines that had me checking the strip every day just to make sure everyone was ok. There have been some that made my eyes well up; Farley's death, of course, but also Lawrence's coming out, Elly's mother's death, Michael's realization of his love for Deanna, Gordon's bravery in overcoming his lousy parentage to build a loving family of his own.
This is for all of you who care about the Pattersons -- a peek into what else Lynn Johnston knows about the character's lives (a lot!) and where their stories come from. It's not the usual collection of strips; it's something more.
8 people found this helpful
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David A. Bede
4.0 out of 5 stars A bit pretentious, but I liked it
Reviewed in the United States on May 16, 2000
This book is great for fans like myself who aren't quite old enough to have followed all the storylines the strip has covered, and who wonder about the stories behind the secondary characters. I do have my limits, and as much as I love FBOFW, we all know it can be schmaltzy sometimes. That definitely shows through here and there in this book, and on occasion I think Johnston tries a bit too hard to fill in all the blanks regarding her characters - this is fiction, after all. It's not really a very good place to start if you're just catching on to the strip (one of the older anthologies would be much better in that case). But if you're a serious fan, you won't want to be without this book. I'm glad I picked it up.
2 people found this helpful
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Linda L. Measner
5.0 out of 5 stars I have always enjoyed the stories that Lynn Johnston writes (draws).
Reviewed in the United States on August 8, 2019
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This book just added to my knowledge of Ms. Johnston and her family. I am a big fan of her comics and I think I have all of her books.
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Jennifer J. Hoey
5.0 out of 5 stars Another Winner!
Reviewed in the United States on August 8, 2007
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I have read compilation books on For Better or Worse, but this is the treasure every FBOW fans should have in their libraries! Not only do we have comics in this book, but we also have chacter profiles, and a bit of background on the real life people Lynn Johnson based her comic characters on! A must have for Johnson fans!
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Dai-keag-ity
5.0 out of 5 stars A Must For Any Lynn Johnston Fan
Reviewed in the United States on August 22, 2005
Though a college student at the time and money was scarce, I skimped and saved and managed to order a copy of this book right after it came out about six years ago. Once it was in my hands I sat and delightedly read it start to finish in one long, chilly New England day. What a wonderful memory...

This book, released to coincide with the twentieth anniversary of For Better Or For Worse, is much more than an anthology or trip down memory lane, it is a revelation of the lives that Lizzie, Michael, John, Elly and the gang have going on beyond what we're told in the comic strip each day. Oh, sure, someone is probably reading this and thinking, "these are fictional characters and have no lives, either in the daily paper or beyond it." Right? Well...let's say they do. For instance, I was tickled to learn of a secret crush Lizzie had as a teenager that was never revealed in the strip (I won't say for whom) and I liked hearing that Phil and Georgia, scarcely seen in the strip in a decade, were still married and doing well, and that most of the families mentioned at one point or another in the neighborhood remained around. I also found it a real treat to have the hsitory of how John and Elly met, roughly a decade before the strip began, told in the form of an illustrated story. (How young they both looked back then!) Okay, I admit it, having followed this family for most of my life (it came out, I believe, the year I was born) they do seem like real people to me, and I mean that as a tribute to the talent of Lynn Johnston.

The title of this work really says it all, and if you're a FBOFW fan who wants to find out more of the personal history of each member of the Patterson family, then this is where to go.
One person found this helpful
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Diana Woodruff
5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Comic Collection!
Reviewed in the United States on February 23, 2009
Seniors' Discount: A For Better or For Worse Collection I have followed For Better or Worse for years. I have had two major cancers (breast and liver) during the 1990's, and Lynn Johnston's books were a huge enjoyment, after surgeries and chemo. I just love her story lines, that her characters grow in real time, that she moves around in the strip (has several stories going on at once). Her art has improved incredibly (I am the daughter of the artist who drew Mr. Magoo), and my daughter is an artist. I wish with all my heart that Lynn would go on with her story of April growing up, and how Marriage is for Liz and Anthony. I hope Ms.Johnston gets to see these reviews and knows how much pleasure she has brought to me and my son.
Sincerely, Diana Woodruff (Batnerd@aol.com)
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JMM
5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Book
Reviewed in the United States on July 23, 2000
I started reading For Better or for Worse close to twenty years ago. It has always kept my interest as well as that of my wife and two children. Mike is one year older than our son and Lizzie is one year younger than our daughter so we can identify with much of the strip. As in real life the actions of some of the characters irritate us at times but overall we look at them as family. Even April has worked her way into our hearts.
Going through this book was almost akin to looking at an old family album. You know the characters but forgot where they came from. My personal favorite was the bylines on Mrs. Dingle. Connie's mis/adventures, Lawrence's dilemma, Gordo & Tracy, the Enjos and many more I'm not mentioning here help make this the finest written cartoon I've ever followed.
I realize that Ms. Johnston will be pulling the plug on this series at some time. I certainly hope it's a long time before she does. If in fact she retires from the strip before I permanently retire I want to say thank you for all the years of laughter and sometimes tears. I also enjoy Fox Trot, Baby Blues, The Duplex, Dilbert and several others but they do not have the impact that this strip has.
Again, thank you very much for many happy hours of reading.
Larry Michaels
8 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars great
Reviewed in Canada on December 19, 2019
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great
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